Operation Atlantic Resolve
Operation Atlantic Resolve, though not a "named" operation, is ongoing efforts in response to Russia's actions in Ukraine, mainly the War in Donbass. It is funded under the European Deterrence Initiative. In the wake of Russia's 2014 invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. took several immediate steps to enhance the deterrence posture along NATO's eastern flank, including augmenting the air, ground and naval presence in the region, and enhancing previously scheduled exercises. The U.S. is taking measures to enhance NATO military plans and defense capabilities and remains committed to maintaining a persistent presence in Central Europe and Eastern Europe. Atlantic Resolve rotations are overseen by a regionally aligned headquarters there.Atlantic Resolve builds readiness, increases interoperability and enhances the bonds between ally and partner militaries with multinational training events in Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania. Road march In March 2015, a US Army spokesman in Wiesbaden announced that a convoy of armored fighting vehicles (including Strykers) would – after manoeuvres in Poland, Estonia and Lithuania – return via road to their garrison at Vilseck. The road march started a week later. Assets The aerial assets are mostly deployed to Ämari Air Base, Graf Ignatievo Air Base, Mihail Kogălniceanu International Airport and Papa Air Base. Air Force The first aerial units were the 159th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron (159th EFS) with McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagle's and the 123d EFS with F-15C's and a single F-15D from April 2015 who stayed for six months. This was added to by the following units: * 355th Fighter Wing = 354th EFS with 12 x Fairchild Republic A-10C Thunderbolt II's between February 13 and July 31, 2015 initially at Spangdahlem Air Base before forward deployed to an Eastern European Air base. * 442nd Fighter Wing = 303d EFS with 8 x A-10C Thunderbolt II's from August 22, 2015 at Amari. * 23d Fighter Group = 74th EFS with 12 x A-10C Thunderbolt II's between September 21, 2015 and March 18, 2016 at various bases. * 104th Fighter Wing = 131st EFS with F-15C's between April and September 2016. * 144th Fighter Wing = 194th EFS with F-15C's and D's from April 2016. * 122d Fighter Wing = 163d EFS with A-10C Thunderbolt II's until August 2016. * 442nd Fighter Wing = 303d EFS with A-10C Thunderbolt II's from July 2016. * 140th Wing = 120th EFS with F-16C between July 2016 and August 2016. * 48th Fighter Wing = 493d EFS with F-15C's between August and September 2016. * 144th Fighter Wing = 194th EFS with F-15C's between August and September 2016. * 125th Fighter Wing = 159th EFS with F-15C's between Unknown and August 2017. * 159th Fighter Wing = 122d EFS with F-15C's between Unknown and August 2017. * 180th Fighter Wing = 112th EFS with F-16's from January 2018. Army * Combat Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain Division between February 2017 and November 2017. * Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division between November 2017 and April 2018. * Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division between April 2018 and February 2019. * Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, 1st Infantry Division from February 2019. As of January 2017 there are 3,500 troops from the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, 87 tanks and 144 Bradley fighting vehicles there. They initially gathered first in Poland, before spreading out across seven countries from Estonia to Bulgaria. The ABCT is headquartered in Germany. An ABCT will constantly rotate deployment every nine months. The equipment will be permanently based in Żagań in western Poland alongside a Polish armored division. This unit has been replaced by 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division in September 2017. AS of May 2018, the rotational force has changed to 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. Reactions Bohuslav Sobotka (center) speaks with a member of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment during his visit to the convoy in Prague on 31 March 2015.]] 82% of Czechs approved and supported the US Army-NATO convoy that partook in Operation Dragoon Ride, according to an opinion poll that was conducted by the independent STEM agency in 2015. A NATO deployment in the early January 2017 was welcomed by Polish officials who described it as a necessary response to Russian military exercises near its border and its military intervention in Ukraine and members of the public as the materiel crossed into south-western Poland from Germany. The same deployment sparked protests in Germany and prompted a critical reaction among the country’s centre-left political parties, but was defended by the country’s ruling Christian Democrat Party (CDU) coalition and German military officials. An article about the deployment that was published by the Donbas News International (DNI) agency and its subsequent circulation in the Western conspiracy-theory cybersphere and Russian mediasphere was cited as an example of the creation and spread of fake news. An editorial by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette cautioned anyone against using the deployment as a domestic political tool. References External links * * Category:2010s in Europe Category:Military operations involving NATO Category:Military operations of the 21st-century Category:Ukraine–United States relations Category:War in Donbass